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Định vị từ tham chiếu Locating referents

Locating Referents


Table of Contents
2. Question types and How to answer: ..................................... 3

Locating Referents



the Council of Europe. In informal language, level B1is called “intermediate”. It
corresponds to independent users of the language, those who have the necessary
fluency to communicate without effort with native speakers.
The English level B1 exam is organized and certified by Cambridge University.
It has four skills but it is divided into three tests which take approximately 135
minutes. Part 1 is about reading and writing and it takes up to 90 minutes. Part 2 is
listening skill and it takes up to 35 minutes. Part 3 is speaking skill and it takes about
10 to 12 minutes.
Therein, comprehending what is written is called reading skill. This is a crucial
and arduous skill when learning English, even indigenous people are not sure to
master it. Reading section assesses your ability to refine specific information from
your lessons as well as your understanding of the general idea of them. Just having
knowledge is not enough, besides that you need to have some tips when completing
the reading test
Some common types of questions in reading test level B1 are: main idea,
sentence completion, choose a title, classification, scanning and identify location of
information, locating referents, etc,…
In particular, locating referents is a effortless type of question to get scores in
reading. Therefore, you should research and practice this type of question to get
scores when you catch it in the test. Therefore, Group 1 – Class K6B decided to about
the “Locating Referents” so that we can introduce in a concise manner to easily
understand about this question type in Reading test.

Locating Referents



Do you know...?
1. Overview of “referent”:
 Approximately five items on the TOEFL and B1 will test your ability to

locate words and phrases that are the referents of pronouns and other words.
 Definition: Referent words (từ tham chiếu) are words in a passage that
other words refer to. Pronouns such as they and it have noun referent; the referents are

the nouns that are replaced by the pronouns. Words such as that, these, and some also
have referents. The referents are other words or phrases appearing in the same
 Usually, the referent is mentioned before the referring word in the passage,
often immediately before it, but sometimes the referent appears later. The referent
may be in the same sentence or in another sentence.
Look at some examples. The referent for each underlined word is shown in bold:
 The plants are watered continuously they are more susceptible in water
 The athletes are healthier and more attuned to their overall well-being than
non-athletes are.
 You are asked a few critical questions among the neutral ones.
Some words that have referents are:
Subject Pronouns





Object Pronouns





Possessive Adjective





Possessive Pronouns






Locating Referents







Indefinite Pronouns













2. Question types and How to answer:
 The most common type of referent question on the TOEFL and B1 asks you
to locate the referent of a pronoun or possessive adjective. However, sometimes you
must identify the referent of a specified term or phrase.
Look at the underlined phrase in the following passage:
Like the gray and fox squirrels, the Eastern chipmunk often feeds on acorns
and hickory nuts.. Essentially a ground species, this pert rodent foes not hesitate to
climb oak trees when the acorns are ripe.
 Answer: This pert rodent refers to the Eastern chipmunk, which is the
subject of both sentences in the passage.
a. Frequently asked questions:

The word________in line________refers to
The phrase_______in line________refers to


Locating Referents


b. How to answer:
 Referent words usually refer to words or phrases in the previous sentences
or in the sentence itself that contains referent word underlined or bold. But sometime
words or phrases appear after it.
 Read the questions and options given.
 Quickly scan and carefully read sentences that contain underlined or bold
words and the previous sentence and then look for the words or phrases listed in the
answer options.
 Eliminate certainly false answers.
 Use both the function and the meaning of the referring words and referents
to determine the correct answer to referent question on the TOEFL and B1
 Check to see if your answer choice is correct by putting it in the sentence. If
the both the structure and the meaning of the sentence still make sense, your answer is
Look at these examples:
With further warming, animals will tend to migrate toward the poles and up
mountainsides toward higher elevations. Plants will also attempt to shift their ranges,
seeking new areas, as old habitats grow too warm. In many places, however, human
development will prevent these shifts. Species that find cities or farmland blocking
their way north or south may become extinct. Species living in unique ecosystems,
such as those found in polar especially at and mountaintop regions are risk because
migration to new habitats is not possible. For example, polar bears and already marine
mammals in the Arctic are threatened by dwindling sea ice but have nowhere farther
to go.
1. The pronoun “those” in line 6 refers to_______.
A. species

B. ecosystems

C. habitats

D. areas

Locating Referents


The correct answer is (A), species, the information in lines 5 – 6. “Species
living in unique ecosystems, such as those found in polar especially at and
mountaintop regions are risk because migration to new habitats is not possible.”
You can check the answer by replacing those with species in the sentence.
2. The phrase “dwindling sea ice” in the last line refers to______.

A. the frozen water in the Arctic.

B. the violent Arctic Ocean.

C. the melting ice in the Arctic.

D. the cold ice in the Arctic.

The correct answer is (C), the melting ice in the Arctic, found in the last

sentence. Dwindling sea ice có thể đoán trong tình huống này là sự giảm dần băng
trên biển Bắc cực do ảnh hưởng của sức nóng lên toàn cầu.
This question needs to stick to the sentence containing the phrase, briefly
translate and choose the answer.
II. Practice
Exercise: Read the following passages and choose the one best answer to each
Question 1:
When you raise vegetables, you become acutely aware of the sun, rain, and
most of all the life–giving soil. You work with these natural elements and
sometimes battle them to produce nutritious food for your table. Success bring an
age–old satisfaction that goes back to the days when there were no supermarkets. The
rhythm of sowing, growing, and harvesting can be just as valuable to your well–being
as the vitamin – and mineral–rich harvest you eat, freeze, or can.
The phrase “these natural elements” in line 2 refers to:
A. Vegetables

B. Sun, rain, and soil

Locating Referents


C. Sowing, growing, and harvesting

D. Vitamins and minerals

 The correct answer is (B), sun, rain and soil, because the information in the
first line: “When you raise vegetables, you become acutely aware of the sun, rain, and
most of all the life–giving soil”, we see that only sun, rain, soil is natural.
Question 2:
Little Penguins are the smallest of the 17 species of penguins. They are only
about 33cm tall. This is in contrast to the Emperor Penguin, their largest Antarctic
Cousin, which stands up to 130cm tall. Little Penguins used to be called Fairy
Penguins. Now the name Little Penguin is used because it is a more accurate
translation of their scientific name, Eudyptula minor.
What does the phrase “their largest Antarctic cousin” refers to?
A. Thick feathers

B. A main predator

C. A scientific name

D. A related species

 The correct answer is (D), a related species: một loài động vật liên quan. In
lines 2-3: “This is in contrast to the Emperor Penguin, their largest Antarctic
Cousin, which stands up to 130cm tall”, their largest Antarctic cousin is to shorten
the relative clause by noun.→ That phrase replaces the Emperor penguin.
Question 3:
Feeding postpones that moment until a young animal has grown to such a size that it
is better able to cope. The young that are fed by their parents become nutritionally
independent at a much greater fraction of their full adult size.
The word “it” refers to_____.
A. feeding

B. young animal

C. moment

D. size

Locating Referents


 The correct answer is (B), young animal. Because only “animal” is the
singular noun that “it” can replace
Question 4:
Do you have to be a good actor to be a good wrestler? ‘I used to really resent
the acting label, but it is acting. When it’s really good, when you’re felling it and
letting that real emotion fly, it comes closer to being real.’ What did his children think
when they saw him getting hurt? ‘Well, they used to think I never got hurt because
that's what I told them. When they got old enough to realize I did, they stopped
enjoying it. That was, in part, what led to my decision to get out.’
The word “that” refers to which of the following?
A. The fact that his children got older
B. The fact that he often got hurt
C. The fact that his children no longer enjoyed watching him perform
D. The fact that he could not tell his children the truth
 The correct answer is (C). “That” is a pronoun that replaces the incident
mentioned in the previous sentence: “When they got old enough to realize I did, they
stopped enjoying it.”
Question 5:
It is a sound you will probably never hear, a sickened tree sending out a distress
signal. However, a team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest
Service has recently heard the cries, and they think some insects also hear the trees
and are drawn to them like vultures to a dying animal
The word “them” refers to____:
A. Trees

B. scientists

C. insects

D. vultures

 The correct answer is (A), trees. The word “them” is a pronoun replacing
the plural noun that appears in the previous sentence, and because the subject is
“insects”, the object can’t be “insects” either.

Locating Referents


Reference words are important because they are another way you can
strengthen the connections between different elements of your text and clarify the
progression of ideas. If we didn’t, our sentences would be very clumsy and boring.
Reading is a skill many people take for granted, but the act of reading and
properly comprehending a text is a complex and interactive process. It requires
several different brain functions to work together and most often requires one to
puzzle through multiple layers of context and meaning. Here are some tips to improve
your Reading skill:
 Don’t expect to understand the full passage
 Don’t start reading the text before looking at the tasks
 Stop when you get confused and try to summarize what you just read
 Eliminate incorrect answer choices
 Timing is crucial
 Ignore anything you already know about the topic
 Be careful when transferring your answer
 Leave difficult questions for the end
 Leave no blanks


Locating Referents


1. English Subject Syllabus of HPU.
2. https://www.efset.org/
3. http://tienganhb1.com/
4. http://www.britishcouncil.es/
5. Vũ Thị Mai Phương, Rèn Luyện Kỹ Năng Làm Bài Đọc Hiểu, Nhà xuất bản
thanh niên.
6. https://www.ieltsadvantage.com/2015/03/20/top-10-ielts-reading-tips/
7. https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-improve-reading-comprehension
8. https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-reading-tips-how-can-i-improve-my-score/


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